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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27203057">The Haunting Of Tarth House</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alice_Writes_Stuff/pseuds/Alice_Writes_Stuff'>Alice_Writes_Stuff</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>A Song of Ice and Fire &amp; Related Fandoms, Game of Thrones (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Character Death, F/F, Ghosts, Haunted Houses, Inspired by The Haunting of Hill House, M/M, Mild Sexual Content, POV Multiple</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 17:54:59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,155</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27203057</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alice_Writes_Stuff/pseuds/Alice_Writes_Stuff</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Five young adults arrive on Tarth, the Sapphire Isle, for a summer none of them will ever forget. Brienne Tarth, who has recently inherited the long-abandoned Tarth House, wishes to spend a fortnight re-acquainting herself with her old family home, assessing how much disrepair it has fallen into, and deciding whether or not there is any value in attempting to salvage it. Assisting her are her best friend, Renly Baratheon, family friend Sansa Stark- whose family has a history of strange psychic abilities- and the Tyrell siblings, Sansa's best friend Margaery, and her older brother, Loras.</p><p>They all come to Tarth House, and as time goes on, and things take a turn for the strange and unusual, they start to wonder if maybe Tarth House was abandoned for a reason...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Loras Tyrell &amp; Margaery Tyrell, Renly Baratheon &amp; Brienne of Tarth, Renly Baratheon/Loras Tyrell, Sansa Stark &amp; Brienne of Tarth, Sansa Stark/Margaery Tyrell</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Part One- The Arrival</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">Part One- The Arrival</span>
</p><p>
  <em>Nobody had touched Tarth House in fifteen years. The house’s owner, Selwyn Tarth, had left it after the death of his wife and his eldest child- taking his three-year-old daughter, Brienne, with him. </em>
  <em>Nobody but Selwyn knew why the house had been abandoned- and he was determined to keep it that way...</em>
</p><p>Brienne Tarth had no memories of her old family home. She hadn’t been there since she was a toddler, and she’d expected to never go there again. Everything was different now, though- now, she was eighteen, Tarth House was hers, and her father was no longer around to shield her from whatever had happened all those years ago.</p><p>It had been six months since her father had died, and Brienne finally felt ready to discuss the situation regarding the family home, and what she was going to do with it. From the start, she’d known that she was probably not going to keep it- apart from anything else, it was far too big a house for one person to live in alone. No, she would see what state the place was in, then look into getting it renovated and sold on.</p><p>She sighed, and looked out the window of her apartment again. Before getting any potential renovators in to work on the house, Brienne had wanted to take some time to re-acquaint herself with the house, and to hopefully dispel the rumours which had developed over the years, that Tarth House was abandoned. To that end, she’d reached out to the Starks- old family friends, with a history of unusual psychic behaviour. Their eldest daughter, Sansa, was due to arrive here today, along with a couple of companions that would be helping her.</p><p>“Are they here yet?” asked a voice behind her. Brienne turned to see that her best friend, Renly, had entered the kitchen and was making himself some coffee.</p><p>“Not yet,” she replied. Renly nodded, and hopped up onto the counter to wait for the kettle to finish boiling.</p><p>Brienne sighed, but didn’t say anything. She and Renly went way back- even though he was three years older than her, they’d still spent most of their summers together growing up, as Renly and his older brother would often come to Tarth during the holidays. At one point, Brienne had held an awkward crush on Renly, which thankfully he knew nothing about.</p><p>Now, they were practically like family- which meant that the only family Brienne really had now, was someone who wasn’t even related to her. Renly had even moved in with her for the last few months, into the small, yet cozy apartment that Brienne and her father had lived in for the last fifteen years.</p><p>“Are you gonna be alright going back there?” he asked after a minute. “I know it’s been a long time, but even so…”</p><p>“I’ll be fine,” Brienne said, cutting him off. “We’re only going to be there a couple of weeks, either way- what can happen in such a short space of time?”</p><p>“Careful there, Brie- those sound like some famous last words,” Renly countered.</p><p>Before Brienne could say anything in response, the doorbell rang, followed by a knock on the door.</p><p>“Brienne?” a voice from the other side of the door said. “It’s me, Sansa- we’re here!”</p><p>Brienne stood up from the kitchen table, and went to open the door. Standing in the doorway to her apartment was Sansa Stark- a tall, red-haired girl about the same age as Brienne- as well as two other people. They could only be siblings, with their light brown, curly hair and green jackets. The older one, a boy wearing a yellow jumper under his jacket, appeared to be about a year younger than Renly, while the girl appeared to be a year younger than her brother.</p><p>“Brienne, this is Margaery and Loras Tyrell. Guys, this is Brienne Tarth,” Sansa said, gesturing from the Tyrells to Brienne and back again. The three exchanged polite greetings, and Brienne let them all into the apartment.</p><p>All this time, Renly had still been perched on the kitchen counter, drinking his coffee. When Brienne brought Sansa and her companions into the apartment, however, he came over to greet them.</p><p>“Hi, I’m Renly, Brienne’s friend,” he said, holding out a hand first to Sansa, then to Margaery, and finally to Loras.</p><p>It was all going fairly normally- it turned out that Renly and Sansa had already met a few times, since Sansa’s father, Ned, and Renly’s oldest brother, Robert, had been best friends since high school- until he went to shake hands with Loras. They maintained eye contact for a little too long, and it was a few seconds before either of them let go. Brienne rolled her eyes, guessing where this was going.</p><p>“So, shall we get started?” Brienne asked, bringing both of them back to the present.</p><p>The five of them gathered around the kitchen table, each sipping from a mug of tea or coffee. They would go to Tarth House this afternoon, but before that, they would discuss their plans for what they were going to do once they got there.</p><p>“I think for the first couple of days, we should go through each of the rooms, to get an idea of what state they’re in,” Brienne said. “Maybe we could focus on the ground floor today, and the attic and the upper floor tomorrow.”</p><p>“I can make a note of each of the rooms,” Renly added. “That way we can have a record of what needs to be done.”</p><p>“And we can take pictures,” Margaery added. “It might help to motivate us if we can see where we’re starting from, so we can see how much progress we’ve made.”</p><p>They all agreed that this was a good idea. Brienne made a note of everything they’d discussed so far in her hardback blue notebook. She knew the real reason why Renly had volunteered to be the group’s scribe- he was hoping to use the setting of the house as material for a story. He still hadn’t decided what kind of story it would be- though he’d brainstormed a couple of ideas with Brienne already, including a historical fiction story and a mystery.</p><p>“What do we do after that?” Loras asked. “After we’ve checked everything over, I mean?”</p><p>“We make a list of all the things that we can do ourselves- wash the windows, clear out any clutter, that sort of thing. Then for the next couple of weeks, we work through that list. Sorry, I know it’s not the most exciting way to spend a fortnight,” Brienne replied.</p><p>“Don’t worry about it,” Margaery replied. “I’m sure that once we get started, it won’t be that bad.”</p><p>Brienne closed her notebook, and took another sip of her coffee, really, really hoping that she was right about that.</p>
<hr/><p>Once they had all finished their drinks and eaten their lunch- Brienne had made carrot and coriander soup for all of them- they gathered up their equipment and their luggage. As well as a suitcase each, the Tyrells had also brought a proper camera, and Brienne and Renly each had their notebooks and several pens.</p><p>They loaded it all into the trunk of Renly’s car, and got in. Normally, Brienne would sit in the front seat, next to Renly, but today she decided to sit in the back, allowing Loras to sit in her usual seat. She gave her friend a knowing wink, before climbing in beside Sansa and Margaery. Renly turned the key in the ignition, switched on the radio, and they were off.</p><p>About half an hour later, they reached Tarth House. It was in a better state than Brienne had been expecting, but it still appeared that there would be work to be done. All the windows in the lower half of the house were cracked, and a couple were gone entirely. There were trails of ivy creeping up all over the building, and a few tiles were missing from the roof. The house appeared to be in decent condition from the outside, though it was impossible to know if the same could be said for the inside.</p><p>“I’m calling dibs on the turret room,” Margaery said, once they had parked the car and climbed in.</p><p>“Will there even be enough rooms for all five of us to sleep in?” Sansa asked, and Brienne frowned, realising that in all of the planning and arranging, she’d forgotten to take this into consideration.</p><p>“I’m not sure,” she admitted. “Some of us might have to double up.”</p><p>They went up to the brown wooden door. Brienne was sure that it had been blue once- however, most of the paint had peeled off by now. She pushed the door open, letting them into the house.</p><p>It was dark inside the house, and they each took a moment to turn on the torches they’d brought with them. In front of them was a short flight of carpeted steps. Brienne led the way up the stairs, casting the beam of her torch around so she could get a better look at their surroundings. The wallpaper that had once covered the walls was mostly gone, and despite her best efforts, she couldn't remember what it had looked like before that. There was another closed door at the top of the steps, which opened up into a large hall.</p><p>“It’s a bit cold in here,” Loras said, hugging his jacket tighter round his body.</p><p>“It’s probably just because of the broken windows,” Renly replied. “Besides, old houses often have drafts and stuff.”</p><p>“Let’s get everything set up,” Brienne said. She’d noticed the cold as well, but didn’t really think anything of it. As Renly had said, it was probably just the result of draughts getting in through the broken windows- not anything to worry about.</p><p>Their first order of business was to go upstairs and see which of the bedrooms were habitable, and decide where they would be sleeping for the next fortnight. The stairs leading to the upper floor of the house seemed sturdy enough, but still, Brienne was careful as she ascended them, followed by the others.</p><p>All in all, there were nine bedrooms, and while there did not seem to be anything wrong with them that couldn’t be solved with a serious amount of dusting, they all agreed that they would only be using the ones that were on the western side of the house. There were five of them- two of which were indeed connected to small turrets, which turned out to contain bathrooms.</p><p>“You can take the biggest room, Brienne, since it’s technically your house,” Margaery said. “If nobody minds, I’ll take the one that’s attached to the other turret.”</p><p>They all agreed, and Sansa, Loras and Renly picked a room each. Renly ended up in the room that was across the hall from Margaery’s, while Loras took the room next door to Renly’s, and Sansa took the other room, which was next to Brienne’s.</p><p>With their rooms claimed and their luggage stored away, the group made their way back downstairs. They were ready to begin their evaluation of the ground floor now, to get to work on fixing Tarth House.</p><p>What none of them knew, though, was that Tarth House was beginning to wake up- and it did not want to be fixed.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Part Two: The Beginning</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">Part Two- The Beginning</span>
</p><p>From an aesthetic standpoint, Tarth House was everything Renly had been hoping for. While there were some notable signs of disrepair- much of the paint and wallpaper had come off, the floorboards were warped and many of them creaked whenever anyone stepped on them, and none of the utilities seemed to be working- the house itself still seemed to be in a decent condition. It was easy to imagine what it had once been like- and Renly was very good at imagining things.</p><p>By dinner time, they’d finished their initial assessment of the ground floor of the house. Renly had filled four pages of his yellow notebook with notes, and he still didn’t feel like he had covered everything he’d wanted to cover. It was a good start, though- it was a very good start.</p><p>Renly still wasn’t sure what kind of story he wanted to write, though he was leaning more towards the mystery idea. This house felt like it was steeped in secrets, it didn’t take much effort to imagine that any number of mysteries could unfold within its walls. He just needed to settle on a good enough idea, and he could get started.</p><p>The one thing that Renly knew about this story was that it had to be really, really good. He had wanted to be a writer for a very long time, and for a lot of reasons. Admittedly, one of those reasons was for himself, in the hopes that becoming a professional author would make his life better, and ensure that his adult life would be more stable than his childhood had been.</p><p>He was also writing for his brothers, though. Mainly for Stannis, the younger of his two older brothers, to whom he owed a great deal, but also maybe for his oldest brother, Robert, to whom he didn’t really owe anything, but who could probably do with a reminder that good things could happen- even to a member of their family.</p><p>Renly and his brothers had been through a lot- they’d been orphans since Renly was three, and things hadn’t gotten much better since, not for a long time. They were starting to look up now, though- Renly would be graduating university next year, Stannis’s daughter was, thankfully, well enough to start school in September, something that had seemed impossible a couple of years ago, and even Robert was finally doing something about the drinking problem that had plagued him for the last eighteen years.</p><p>So, in a way, this book would be for all three of them- a testament to how far they had all come from the angry eighteen-year-old, the silent thirteen-year-old and the frightened toddler that they’d been when their troubles had began.</p><hr/><p>They all gathered around the dinner table. There was food in the house, but with the utilities out, there was no way to cook anything.</p><p>“We can light the fires tonight,” Brienne suggested, ever the practical one. “That’ll at least provide us with heat and light. Margaery, Sansa and I can gather firewood and get the fireplaces lit.” She turned to Renly and Loras. “You two can get us some food. There’s a pizza place about fifteen minutes away- bring back three, that should be enough.”</p><p>Renly nodded, and stood up. Together, he and Loras pulled on their coats and shoes, and headed out into the night. They went over to the car, and Renly got into the front seat and switched on the ignition.</p><p>“So,” he began, as they pulled away from the house and started driving into town. “What brings you to Tarth House, Loras Tyrell?”</p><p>“Just Loras is fine,” he replied, running a hand through his messy brown curls. It took Renly a second to look away and focus on the road ahead. “And I’m here for a couple of reasons. On the one hand, I’m here because Margaery and I both wanted to help Sansa to help Brienne fix up her house. But I also just like old houses, particularly if they look haunted. I’ve always liked the idea of staying in a haunted house, or even just one that could potentially be haunted.”</p><p>“That makes sense,” Renly said, nodding his head. “I’m here mainly to help Brienne, but I also want to use it as a setting for a story I’m working on. Of course, I say that, I haven’t really started working on it yet. I’m not even sure if I want to write a mystery or a historical fiction story.”</p><p>He frowned, studying the road ahead. Renly didn’t really talk about his writing with anyone outside of his family- a group which mainly consisted of Stannis, Brienne, and Shireen, who loved stories. It was something that felt far too personal to discuss with just anyone, especially people he’d only just met. There was something about Loras, though, that made him want to be more open, even about something he would normally be closed off about.</p><p>“You could write a combination of both, maybe?” Loras suggested. “Maybe a mystery that’s set in the past, like an Agatha Christie sort of thing?”</p><p>“That could work,” Renly replied.</p><p>By now, they had reached the town. Renly parked the car in a small public car park, and got out. The pizza place Brienne had mentioned was a couple minutes’ walk away, and they found it easily enough.</p><p>“Have you been here before?” Loras asked, as they entered the restaurant.</p><p>“Yeah,” he replied. “My brother and I used to come here every year during the summer, so I know my way around town really well.”</p><p>They ordered three pizzas- one pepperoni, one ham and pineapple, and one barbecue chicken. Renly figured that they could each have half a pizza, and then if any of them wanted more, they could share the leftover half. They’d need to wait about twenty minutes for the food to be ready, so they ended up sitting at one of the small tables in the restaurant while they waited.</p><p>Renly pulled out his phone, deciding to check in with Stannis while he was in town. The two of them hadn’t lived together for a long time, not since Renly had left to go to university in Storm’s End three years ago, but they still kept in touch as much as they could. Quickly, he sent Stannis a text message.</p><p>Renly: First day at Tarth House almost done- going well so far. Now waiting for dinner at Another One Bites The Crust. Hope you’re having a good day!</p><p>A minute later, the response came. Renly was not too surprised either by how quickly it came- Stannis believed in being timely about these sorts of things- nor what the response actually said.</p><p>Stannis: I think there are several words missing in that text, Renly- that being said, I am pleased to hear you’re enjoying yourself so far.</p><p>Renly rolled his eyes. Stannis had always been a bit of a stickler for proper grammar, even in text messages and similarly informal forms of communication. He was about to send a response, which may or may not have included an intentional your/ you’re mix-up, when he became aware that Loras was looking at him. He set his phone down and met his gaze.</p><p>“Sorry about that,” he said. “I was checking in with my brother,” he added, by way of explanation.</p><p>“Don’t worry about it,” Loras replied. They were both quiet for a moment, before Loras spoke up again. “What’s your brother like?” he asked.</p><p>“He’s quite serious,” Renly replied, not really sure how else to describe Stannis in simple terms. “He’s about ten years older than me, and we’re pretty different by all accounts.”</p><p>It was something of an understatement, of course- generally speaking, the only thing that Renly and his brothers had in common was their physical appearances (they were all tall, with black hair and blue eyes) and not much else. Sometimes he wondered if this would’ve been the case regardless of whether their parents had died when they had, or if that had been the inciting incident in their shared story.</p><p>“My oldest brother’s a little like that,” Loras replied. “He’s only five years older than me, though. I wouldn’t really describe him as <em>serious, </em>but we are certainly both quite different people.”</p><p>Renly nodded, though admittedly he was paying a little more attention to the soft, small smile that had appeared on Loras’s face when he talked about his brother, rather than what he had actually said. He didn’t really want to discuss either of their brothers any more, which he supposed was his own fault for bringing the subject up.</p><p>“Family’s like that, I suppose,” he said, then decided to change the subject. Before he could think of anything to say, though. Loras spoke again.</p><p>“So, you and Brienne- what’s the story there?” he asked. He sounded casual enough, though the way he was tugging just a little too hard at one brown curl seemed anything but casual.</p><p>“We’ve been best friends since we were kids,” he replied. “We’re practically family,” he added, wanting to make it clear that their relationship was purely platonic. He smiled. “Is this a roundabout way of asking if we’re dating?”</p><p>“It might have been,” Loras admitted, with a small shrug.</p><p>“Then no, we’re not. I’m not dating anyone else at the moment, either.”</p><p>Loras smiled, and a part of Renly almost thought about telling him the truth- he’d never really <em>dated </em>anyone before. Neither of his brothers had been especially lucky in love- even Lyanna Stark, the only one of Robert’s many, many exes who’d lasted more than a month or two, had left him eventually, and Stannis’s only long-term relationship had ended in a divorce, and with him having primary custody of his daughter Shireen. Renly did worry, sometimes, if that meant he would be unlucky too. Admittedly, he’d never actually been with anyone for long enough to really test that out, and he’d never really wanted to. There was something about Loras, though, about his messy curls and soft smiles, that made him want to try- even just for the next two weeks.</p><p>Just then, the man at the counter announced their food was ready, and they went to collect the three delicious-smelling boxes. They’d already paid, and with Renly carrying the boxes, they left the restaurant.</p><p>The night was cold when they stepped outside, and Loras shivered a little, hugging his jacket a bit closer. Renly led the way back to the car, knowing they had to get back quickly before both they and the food got too cold.</p><p>Once they were inside the car, though, he didn’t leave the car-park straight away. He switched the ignition on, to generate a bit of heat in the car, but otherwise he didn’t make any move to leave. Instead, he turned slightly in his seat, so he could pass the pizza boxes to Loras. Loras turned too, so they were looking at each other, and took the boxes. Neither of them turned away, though.</p><p>He wasn’t sure who leaned in first, or if they both leaned in at the same time, as if by some unspoken mutual agreement. All he knew was that one moment, he was looking into Loras’s eyes, which were brown, and soft, and possibly the nicest eyes he’d ever seen, and the next, both their eyes were closed, and they were kissing.</p><p>It didn’t last long, and soon they pulled apart. Still, it took Renly a second before he turned away from Loras and pulled out of the car-park. He might have lingered a bit more, and possibly kept kissing him for longer, if they hadn’t needed to get back to the house, if it hadn’t been for the pizzas and their three colleagues waiting for them back at Tarth House.</p><p>“Journeys end in lover’s meetings,” Loras said eventually, as they drove through the dark streets and out of town.</p><p>“Maybe they do,” Renly replied. “And maybe they begin that way instead,” he added, hoping that this was going to mark the beginning of their journey together- however short it may be- and not the end.</p><hr/><p>Something was clearly wrong when they entered Tarth House. Renly could feel it in the air even before Brienne came out into the entrance hall to greet them. It was difficult to describe, or to explain, but he had a sense that the house was annoyed with them, and didn’t especially care if they knew it.</p><p>“Has something happened?” he asked, noting the frown on his friend’s face.</p><p>“You could say that, yeah,” she replied. “Come through to the dining room, we’ll fill you in on what you’ve missed.”</p><p>They followed her to the dining room. Renly frowned, wondering what had happened. Brienne didn’t seem too shaken up by whatever it was, but that wasn’t much of a gauge, since it took a lot to break through her sensible, unflappable exterior.</p><p>When the three of them reached the dining room, Sansa and Margaery were sitting at the table. Sansa was drinking a cup of tea, and for the first time, Renly noticed that she was wearing light grey gloves. Margaery also had a cup of tea, though hers was sitting on the table, seemingly untouched. Nothing seemed too amiss.</p><p>“What’s happened?” Loras asked, setting down the pizza boxes on the table.</p><p>“We’re honestly not sure,” Margaery admitted. “At least, we’re not sure <em>how </em>it happened.”</p><p>“Maybe it would be easier if we showed you guys,” Brienne said. “I’ve thought about the best way to explain it, and it sounds crazy however I try to explain it.”</p><p>The five of them left the dining room and went back through to the main hall, then went upstairs. Brienne led the way, lighting their path with her torch. She pushed open the door of Margaery’s room first, then stepped aside so that Renly and Loras could see inside.</p><p>The room was a mess. Margaery’s suitcase was in one corner, sitting open, and her clothes and other belongings were scattered all over the floor. Several of her makeup containers had been opened, spilling eyeshadow powder and nail polish on the floor, and the mattress on her bed had been thrown off completely.</p><p>The other four rooms told a similar story. Everyone’s suitcases had been opened, their belongings had been scattered and their mattresses were in the corner.</p><p>“How did this happen?” Loras asked.</p><p>“We don’t know,” Margaery said. “We were all downstairs when it happened, getting firewood from the garden, so we know it couldn't have been us- and you two were off getting dinner, so it couldn't have been either of you.”</p><p>“You don’t think it could be…” Renly said, almost afraid to finish his sentence. “You don’t think it could be the house, do you?” It sounded crazy, he knew it sounded crazy- but at the same time, there had to be some kind of explanation for why this had happened, and if it hadn’t been one of them, then maybe…</p><p>“No,” Brienne said, firmly. “No, we’re not doing this. It’s just a house, and this is just one of those weird things that can’t be explained. We’re going to go downstairs, eat our pizza and try to forget about this, at least for tonight. Alright?”</p><p>Renly wasn’t so sure that his theory was so far-fetched given how deliberate the set-up looked, but at the same time, he didn’t have the energy to push the matter any further at the moment. A little reluctantly, he followed Brienne out of Loras’s room, and they all went back into the hall and down the stairs.</p><p>Just before they left, though, Sansa pulled one of her gloves off, and rested her bare hand on the door-frame. She frowned, and jerked her hand away, quickly pulling the glove back on. As they made their way down the stairs, Renly hung back a little so that he could talk to her.</p><p>“What was that about?” he asked.</p><p>“It’s gonna sound crazy, but…” she frowned, looking back at the top of the stairs. “I don’t think this house wants us here. Or maybe there’s something in this house that doesn’t want us here- I’m not sure which. When I touched the door-frame, it felt… I don’t know. Angry, that’s the best way I can think to describe it.”</p><p>“Does that often happen when you touch things?” he asked. “Can you tell how they’re feeling?”</p><p>“No- usually I can just get a sense for their history. Sometimes if a lot of emotion was projected onto the object- like, if it’s a really well-loved toy, for instance- then I can get a sense of that, but that’s it.”</p><p>“I see,” Renly replied. He’d never given much thought as to whether he believed this kind of psychic phenomena to exist, but honestly, in light of what had happened upstairs, it didn’t seem that strange or far-fetched all things considered.</p><p>None of them said a word about scattered objects or emotional houses when they got to the dining room, however. Instead, they focused on eating their now-cold dinner and going over their plans for tomorrow.</p><p>“We need to do something about the utilities,” Brienne said. “I know there’s plumbing and electricity and all that, but none of it is working, so we need to get that fixed.”</p><p>“We should also give the place a good dusting,” Sansa added. “Practically every surface we looked at was grey, it can’t be healthy staying in a house like that, even for a couple of weeks.”</p><p>“We’ll meet back here tomorrow, I think, and we can form a proper plan of action,” Brienne said. “For now, though, it’s been a long day- I think we should all head upstairs and try to get some sleep.”</p><p>“Once we’ve cleared up the mess up there,” Margaery added, reminding them all of the incident they’d refused to acknowledge during their meal.</p><p>“We’ll also need blankets and candles,” Sansa added.</p><p>They all got to work, getting the blankets they’d all brought from home out of the car where they’d been left, lighting candles and getting their respective rooms back up to order. By the time he was done, Renly was too tired to write about the strange condition in which he’d found his room earlier, or the feeling of anger that Sansa had mentioned getting from the house. He was too tired to do anything except get ready for bed, curl up under the dark green blankets and try to get some sleep.</p><hr/><p>He was awoken maybe an hour later by something rattling against the window. It sounded like someone tapping at random places on the glass, trying to find a weak spot so they could easily break in. When he went to check, though, he found it was just the sound of heavy raindrops hitting the window. Renly shook his head, and was just about to go back to bed when he heard a loud banging noise somewhere in the house.</p><p>“It’s probably just a door opening,” he said to himself. “It must be quite a storm out there- the wind is making the doors open and close.”</p><p><em>It’s strange, though, </em>he thought, as he got back into bed. <em>It had been such a calm day up until now. There weren’t meant to be any storms, never mind one of this scale. </em>But they were in the Stormlands, he reminded himself. It wouldn't be the first time something like this had happened.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Tarth House is actually based on a real abandoned house in Scotland, Stronvar House.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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